The Biggest Challenge
by x0onehellofabutler0x
Summary: What happens when Snape kids return to live with him? And one is a werewolf? Whos mate is Remus Lupin? Let's find out.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! First story, so please don't flame. I own just about as much as a nihilist believes in. So, basically, nothing. PLEASE REVIEW!

Severus Snape was in shock. He had just received the most important letter of his mostly miserable life. Here are the contents of that letter.

_Ministry of Magic, Ireland Branch_

_The Ministry of Magic would like to inform you that your ex-partner, the Miss Kerry Roth-Salli, has tragically succumbed to illness and has now passes away. She has left all her money and possessions to you, Mister Severus Snape, Including the custody of your two illegitimate children; Seth Roth-Salli, age 16; and Matildae Roth-Salli, age 13. You may retrieve them from the Ministry Of Magic, London Branch, on July 1__st__ of this year. _

_Best Wishes, _

_Matthew O'Riley, MOM, Ireland Branch._

Severus held his composure very well in most situations, but that was not the cast this time. He slid down in to a chair and let a few tears escape the corners of his eyes. His lover, who had left him so many years ago, was dead. And their two children! He hadn't seen either of them since that day, that fateful day, when he had finally told Kerri of his alliance with the Dark Lord. Faster than you could say quiditch, she whisked away both their children and left the country. How he had missed her. Her curly brown hair and her soft loving brown eyes. But now she was dead, and those eyes would never see again.

And their children! They were now almost grown, especially Seth. He hadn't seen Seth since he was almost two years old, and Matildae was not even born yet. But he would get to see them again! Oh, lord, what would that be like? Severus almost went into cardiac arrest with the thought of meeting his children again. What if they hated him? He couldn't blame them; he was a miserable middle aged man, with no life outside of the Dark Lord and teaching Potions to idiots.

No, no. He was going to Dumbledore right away for advice. The crazy old man seemed to know everything.

Sitting in Dumbledore's office had always unnerved Severus. He hated being stared at by all the portraits and having Lemon Drops forcibly pressed on him. But them man knew what to do.

"Well, Severus, I don't see what the problem is," the man said with a twinkle in his blue eyes. He had just read the letter the Severus had received.

"Headmaster, you know exactly what the problem is," Severus retorted, with more than a little venom in his voice. "I have to go get my children, Seth and Matildae. I haven't seen them in years, and just how am I supposed to take on two teenage children as my own! How am I supposed to get to know them?" Severus said, on the verge of screaming.

"Just as you said, Professor Snape. I will make room for them in you quarters and you will be their father. Would you like to meet them now?"

"What?"

You heard me, Severus. Just give me a minute." With that, the headmaster popped out the Floo in a rush of green smoke. When the headmaster returned, he was arm in arm with two raven haired teenager.

Severus gasped. They were most undoubtedly his. He looked at the girl first. She had long black hair and her mother's dark brown eyes. She had Severus's hands with long fingers and a lanky frame the both siblings shared with their father. She was wearing a plain white tee shirt and black shorts, while the boy was wearing jeans and a full long sleeve shirt.

The boy had large hands and feet, which showed he was still growing into himself. He was smaller than most boys his age, and the Snape family thinness didn't help his case. He seemed very self-conscious, especially compared to his confident sister. The boy had a very strange air around him, but Severus could not tell what it was. He finally looked the boy in the eye, and was shocked at what he saw. Amber. Pure amber irises were what he saw.

Severus knew what this meant. It could only mean one thing.

"Werewolf."

After uttering the one word, the whole mood of the room changed. Seth looked down, Matildae moved to stand in front of him, and Dumbledore calmly stated, "Yes."

"Why don't we all have a seat?" Dumbledore said cheerfully. They all moved to the chairs slowly, Matildae purposely sitting in between Severus and Seth.

"Let me get this straight" said Severus, "I now have the custody of two teenager who I haven't seen since they were babies, and my son is a werewolf."

"That's true," Seth whispered from the corner.

"Well then, that's settled. I will have the house elves set up rooms for you in your new home. Your father will show you the way."


	2. Chapter 2

Remus Lupin was a calm sort of man. He was good at staying disconnected; thinking logically. It was his strong suit. Years of keeping his huge secret had taught him nothing if not to keep his mouth shut. But today was different. All day he had had the strangest feeling in the pit of his stomach. As if he needed something. He just had no idea what to do about it.

After classes has paced his office without rest, trying to think of what might be wrong with him. This feeling, _need, _he decided it was, was the most distracting thing he had ever experienced. He picked up a book from his desk and thumbed through the pages until he hit a chapter on ailments that afflicted his kind, werewolves.

_There is a strange set of symptoms that go along with the situation of being near ones unrecognized mate. One might encounter a feeling in the abdomen, head, or major muscle groups. One can only describe this feeling as an aching need to be near their mate. It will feel more painful in dominants, while rather sensual in submissives. To relieve this feeling one can only go and find their mate. The pain will _leave once the dominant and submissive partners are together.

"What the dickens? My mate, bless his soul, is in Hogwarts right now?" Remus said aloud, even with no one in the room. He took off at a sprint down the hallway where the ache in body seemed to pull him.

"_Who could he be? There are no students at Hogwarts, and I know all the teachers. Might he be a friend of one of them? Yes. That is it. I have to get to him before he leaves," _Remus though as he ran. "_I must be a dominant,"_ he though as the pain in his abs grew. Soon enough, he had found himself outside Dumbledore's office, panting and confused.

"_Okay Remus, think. Your mate is inside this very office and you don't want to scare or hurt him do you? No. Of course not. This may be easier said than done, but you must remain calm and be gentle with him,"_ After quickly pondering why he was so sure his mate was a male, he uttered the password, _cockroach cluster, _and stepped inside.

He barely registered Dumbledore saying something about showing someone to their rooms as he saw the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on.

Neat, rave colored hair that shown in the candlelight and the most exhilarating pale blue eyes with a ring of amber on the outside. The boy had fine features and a baby smooth cheeks and chin, showing his age. He had thin shoulders and hips. He was tall, but not as tall as Remus or Snape. Long legs were in tight, black pants. As Remus' reached his sneakered feet his eyes snapped back up to the eyes of their owner and locked there in a gaze that communicated passion and possessiveness. The boys own gaze was confused, and even a little bit scared. This caused Remus to cool down from his possessive stare and gently look with desperation towards Dumbledore.

"Well this is definitely and interesting happening," said the old man with twinkling eyes.

"What, what's going on? Lupin, get out of here. This matter doesn't concern you,"

Remus stayed decidedly quiet as he looked back to his new mate, not wanting to upset him by hurting anyone.

Dumbledore ignored Severus' rude comment and continued, "Severus, it seems that is the mate of young Seth."

Snape was silent before screaming, "What?"

"I…um. He's telling the truth," came the also shocked but less irrationally angry voice of Seth.

"_Oh, what a voice," _thought Remus when he heard his little mates voice. Surely that must be what angels sound like?

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" said the voice of Matildae, who at this point was extremely confused.

Dumbledore cleared his throat smiled at the two mates, and said, "Every magical creature out there has a mate. A mate is exactly what it sounds like; soul mate. Two, or occasionally three, mates are made for each other and perfect for each other. They are with each other until one of them died, but the other will soon follow. But off of that dreary topic. What has happened is that here, has found his mate in your brother Seth."

Snape looked completely exhausted. Not that he could be blamed, he had just found his two children again, come to find out that one of them is a werewolf, and mated to his enemy, Remus Lupin. Today had been a long day for Severus Snape, indeed.

Remus looked back to his new mate. He would take care of this boy, give him anything and everything he needed. He wanted to learn everything about his new mate, down to the last thing. Why, he didn't even know his last name! Keeping his mate safe and happy were his top priorities now, and nothing was going to change that.

He watched Seth exhale and give him a small smile. Remus' heart damn near exploded at the emotion that hit him as this happened. He took a step closer to his new mate and picked up his hand. He ran his thumb over the smooth skin until Seth withdrew it uncomfortably. His mate was uncomfortable? Remus frowned, but remembered that they had just met, and Seth was just a teenager. He couldn't be older than 16, Remus decided as he studied his beautiful face.

"Remus, Seth, Matildae, would you be so kind as to step out for a moment as I speak to Severus?" Dumbledore said cheerfully.

Seth's quiet, "Sure," rung in Remus' ears as he stepped away from Remus and out of the door. Remus and Matildae followed behind without question. All was great in the world when you had a mate. Remus had found his mate! A mate!


	3. Chapter 3

Seth Roth-Salli was caught completely off guard by all of what was happening. He had just met his father for the first time in 14 years and his werewolf mate. He was standing in the hall of this completely new place with only his sister for support. His mate, Remus Lupin was his name, was with them and was unabashedly staring at Seth. Not that Seth had the power to do anything but stare back.

Mate. He had a mate. He definitely hadn't expected this to happen so soon, or at all. But here his mate was, in flesh and blood, standing right before him.

His mate was older, about the same age as his father, it seemed. He had longish sandy colored hair and full amber eyes. He was moderately built with muscle, as if he had recently had a job in labor. He was also taller than Seth by about five inches.

"So…mates?" Seth breathed out awkwardly.

"Yeah," Remus replied with a benevolent tone to his voice.

"This is so weird for me."

"It's okay, I understand."

Seth exhaled and absentmindedly reached a hand up to tug on his hair. Remus immediately jumped forward and batted his hand away; his little mate shouldn't hurt himself in any way. His mate put his hand down, but took two steps back in fear. That is when Madildae Roth Salli exploded.

"Okay, mister, you get your grubby little paws off of my brother! You barge in here right after we meet our father for the first time in a long time and you interrupt my poor brother's world in such a way that…that…you need to take a step back! Who the hell do you think you are and what do you have to say for yourself?

"Tills…" Seth said, trying to calm his ferocious sister.

"Quiet Seth, dear. I'm dealing with this." Matildae said in a way that reminded Remus of the way a mother would speak to her children.

"I…I'm sorry Seth." That was all Remus could say before Matildae exploded again.

"Damn right you're sorry and you should be!"

"Tills, you need to calm down." Seth said with the most confidence Remus had heard him talking with. Not that that was very confident at all, but it was an improvement in Remus' eyes.

"Sorry, Seth. You know how I get."

"It's okay. I accept both of your apologies. "

"Thank you, Seth," Remus said in a voice with a slightly satisfied undertone. He wanted to hug his mate to his, but he didn't want to scare him, or offend his mate's sister again.

"_Wait a minute here…they are brother and sister and she said that they had just met their father who must be…Snape! I'm mated to Snape's son? Wow…this __**is**__ an interesting development, isn't it? No wonder Albus looked so amused." _Remus thought. It wasn't that he was at all mad about his mate being Snape's soon. No, that wasn't how mates worked. It was just a minor thing that Remus now had to consider when he was around Professor Snape. He wished he had made his friends act nicer towards Snape, but it was too late for that now.

Just then, Dumbledore popped his head out of the door and invited them all back in. They walked through the doorway and took their seats; Matildae making sure to sit between Remus and Seth.

"Okay everyone, it's all been settled. The house elves will set up rooms for Seth and Matildae in Severus' quarters. You will spend the rest of the summer here at Hogwarts and attend school here in the fall. Remus' rooms will be moved closer to yours to help him stay close to his new mate Seth, and I encourage you to spend lots of time together, not only Remus and Seth, but also Seth, Madildae, and Severus. Does anyone have a problem with that? No? Good." Dumbledore said with his famous eye twinkle.

"Sir, I was wondering if Hogwarts had a library that I could use?" Said Matildae, obviously to look up her brother's new predicament.

"Of course! What house of learning is complete without a library! You may use it anytime you like. I'm sure our fine would be glad to show you there." Said Dumbledore with an almost song-like ring to his voice.

"Severus will show you and Remus to your new homes and then Remus can bring Matildae to the library! It will work out wonderfully! I hope you love your new home at Hogwarts. Remus, you are now living behind the portrait of the Yellow Fairy and the password is 'Chocolate Frog.' Of course you may change it if you like. Well, off you go! Have a lovely day!" said the oddly cheerful Dumbledore.

Matildae caught Remus' arm as he was about to leave the library.

"I think we need to have a little chat." She said with an almost menacing tone to her voice.

"Yes?" Remus said back, tiredly.

"I just want you to understand that if you hurt my brother in any way, shape, or form, whether it be mentally, physically, or spiritually, I will be forced to kick your ass so hard you will go forward in time by a week and a half," the girl said with a sweet voice that dripped with sugar.

"I understand," Remus said, not quite done, "But what you need to understand is that I would never, ever, not under any circumstanced intentionally hurt Seth. That is what it means to have a mate. I ould protect him and go to the ends of the earth for his well being. I think we have an agreement here?"

"Yes, yes we do," Said Matildae as they shook hands, "Yes we do."


	4. Chapter 4

Seth sighed and walked through the door to his new home. Even though he felt extremely awkward around his new mate, he didn't want him to go. But he wasn't about to go out of his way to be near this stranger either. He was a bundle of conflicting feelings and anxiety. He decided that now was the best time to get to know his long last father.

"So…" Seth said awkwardly.

"Well, umm, this is my quarters. You and your sister may use your own rooms, of course, along with the sitting room, and the small kitchen. My room and that potions lab behind that door are off limits." Severus said, almost harshly. He couldn't be blamed for this though; everyone had had a long day.

"Do you teach potions? It's my best subject. Matildae is useless at it though…" Seth trailed off.

"I do teach potions. What, would you say is the hardest potion you have ever made? Just so I can get an estimate about where you are." Severus said curiously.

"Ummm…well, I made Veritaserum once. Did you know that you can substitute the Monnchoole fang with the skin of a Poison Dart frog? I figured that out while I was making it, but I had to take that huge risk of it not working. It all worked out though! I love when that happens." Seth said, slightly dreamily.

"How did you know that it might work, if you don't mind me asking?" Severus said, impressed with his son.

"Well, Monnchoole venom and Poison Dart frog poison are of the same class, you know? It really was all a hunch that turned out okay." Seth said modestly.

"I used to experiment with potions when I was your age, and still do when I get the time. I wish I had my old school book back, so I could give it to you. It had everything I had discovered in it."

"Maybe we could work together sometime. It would be great to have a teacher that could actually teach for once. The one back at the school I went to was completely incompetent." Seth said hopefully.

"I think I'd enjoy that." Severus said with the first real smile he had had in a while.

"_Werewolf mate are among the most strongly bonded mating pairs in the world of magical creatures, if not the strongest. Once bonded with includes a bite from either parties to each other and sex, many skills and traits become unlocked to the pair. _

_The most well known trait of werewolf mates is the phenomenon of 'werewolf aging.' This causes the two of the pair to age until about their mid to late twenties. After they hit that point, they begin to age about one werewolf year to about ten human years. If the mates are found after one or both parties are past their mid to late twenties, they grow visibly more youthful, but will never regain the look they had before the twenties point._

_Another well known thing that happens to mated werewolves is the increase of magical skill. Most often, the werewolves' magic will increase between twenty five and eighty percent. This is measured using the Mathaeu-Nicholes Majickal Powers Scale, circa 1862._

_Other changes that may or may not take place when werewolves are mated include but are not limited to, personality changes, typically making a more rough individual kinder; and a small loss of social life of the mates, to make room in the individuals life for the immense amount of time and energy it takes to have a mate. All werewolves and most experts agree, it is time well spent and enjoyed."_

Matildae looked up after reading the next chapter of a book she had found on werewolf mating. So far the rest of the book, along with the excerpt above, had told her mostly one thing. Seth's whole world was about to shift from what it was now; family, reading, and potions, to this Remus Lupin guy, who neither of them knew very well.

Matildae had made in perfectly clear to this Lupin character that if he even thought about hurting Seth he had another thing coming. But from what this book told her, and from what Lupin had said himself, he would never dream of hurting Seth, and in fact would protect him from anyone that did to the death.

The more she read, the more she was starting to think positively about it.

"Isn't it time that Seth should have something good going for him? He's always the helper, the doer, the surrogate mom. It's about time he gets something nice." Matilae thought with a small smile.

This…mateship? Matehood? Mate thingy wasn't so bad at all. Seth would get someone who really loved him for him, and someone to love back. And he wouldn't have to do full moons alone anymore. Hell, if this book was anything to go by, he might even start liking full moons.

Remus walked back down to the dungeons from the library and stopped when he saw the portrait of the Yellow Fairy.

"Chocolate frog," he muttered to the portrait, and stepped inside after it had swung open.

He examined his new quarters in detail. The front room was a sitting room with a large, comfy looking couch, and two huge armchairs. The color scheme was plain, but pleasant in beige with accents of dark blue. One wall was covered entirely in bookshelves with Remus's own collection of books, along with a few new titles that Dumbledore must have put there.

He stepped into a room to his left, which seemed to be a miniature library. He wondered to himself if his mate liked to read.

The room on his right was his new bedroom, and he noticed Dumbledore had swapped out his the full bed from his old room for a king size.

"Pervy old man." Remus thought with a small chuckle.

AUTHOR NOTE AND SUCH

**Carmen Veiga-** Thank you for all the lovely reviews, could I request some constructive criticism? It's what I really need. THANKS A BUNCH FOR BEING SUCH A LOVE!

And yes, I did make up the creature, Monnchoole. I just mashed keys and it made sense.

I think it's like a mix between a monkey and a snake. I CHALLAGE FAN ARTISTS TO DRAW THAT!


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